Over the weekend, Neil Armstrong died. His death brought back a flood of memories for the living. I have no memory of the day when Neil’s voice tickled the ear of many proud Americans. As a space program fan I am a little envious of those who do. I feel left out. I only have the images I have crossed my eyes to reflect upon.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the widening gulf between those in the field of science and those in the fields of faith. Those who wish to excel in science are in so many places nearly required to check their beliefs at the door. And those in the faith are similarly often encouraged to not get too excited about any accomplishment in science. It is a gulf that seems to be constantly widened from both sides.
Science needs to stop digging. Those in the scientific fields need to welcome people of faith into every field. True science requires openness to every perspective to be best. Many of the greatest fundamental discoveries of science were made by people of faith. Scientific discovery need not be fueled by a desire to explain away God. Just as powerful is the motivation to understand the Creation of the Redeemer.
Christianity also needs to stop digging. Of course, there are scientific theories that we must reject due to our beliefs. But we must not act as if all science falls into this category. I was told recently of a pastor who referred to NASA as the National Atheist Science Administration. While it is true that many of the efforts of science these days are aimed at disproving the claims of religion, we need not simply dismiss science. For instance, much of the press about the new mars rover Curiosity has been about its mission to discover life that exists millions of year ago. And it is true that many believe such a discovery would deal a serious blow to the adherents of a belief in creation as described in the bible. But those of us who do believe that Genesis reveals to us an accurate description of how life came to exists in this world do not simply need to be 
antagonistic to this project or any other. While some may be searching for proof to stand over and against God’s revelation, we can simply marvel to see a part of God’s creation in a whole different way.
You know what one of the first things that Neil Armstrong saw on the moon was? It was his fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin celebrating the Lord’s Supper. I long for the days when science and faith could still coexist like they did on the moon that day in 1969.
